Unwitting Betrayal
by MissWinter
Summary: The war didn't end as expected. It has been five years since the Battle for Hogwarts. Hermione and a small band of rebels intend to change the course of history for the better, but is it already too late?
1. Battle for Hogwarts

Hermione looked around as the battle raged on relentlessly. The pace unforgiving to most, bodies all over unclear if they were dead or just too injured to moved. She had no time to dwell on the loss at this moment though as a hex flew past her face missing her by mere inches. Turning she saw Ron fighting with Bellatrix Lestrange, he was clearly struggling and in no state to hold her off much longer. Jumping into action Hermione threw a protego to protect Ron from a nasty cutting hex which caused the death eater to shriek in anger at her kill being stolen from her.

"Boy am I glad to see you," Ron commented as he shot Hermione a grateful smirk. Finding his rhythm again he started blasting hex after hex at then dark witch giving her no room to manoeuvre. Granger took his lead and began blasting hexes of her own, it was too much for the dark witch in her already battle tired state to handle and she fell.

Before Hermione and Ron could celebrate ridding the world of such a horrible woman their attention was drawn to the centre of the battle field, two pain ridden screams caused the battle around to pause due to the intensity. The sight was shocking.

In the middle of the battlefield were both Voldemort and Harry, their wands locked with each other but it was different than before. The streams of magic connecting the two was a dark oozing black which had begun reaching up the arms of both the Dark Lord and Harry. Both appeared to be in an incredible amount of pain. Seconds past and the darkness seeped over both of them, no one else in the battlefield moved and they dared not interfere with whatever was happened.

When both of them had been consumed there was a sudden moment of pure silence, if Hermione closed her eyes she could almost imagine she wasn't here for a moment and was laid in her bed waiting to get up. Then the dark mass merged into one with a loud bang which sent a shockwave across the battlefield knocking everyone back at least 3 meters, majority lost their balance and fell.

Hermione managed to hold onto her wand and quickly recovered from being dazed by the explosion. She pointed her wand towards where Harry and Voldemort had been, wondering who had won the fight. Standing there was Harry, no Dark Lord in sight. There were shocked gasps and murmurings from all around but Harry did not move or react, something wasn't right and Hermione knew then that not everything was as it seemed.

Harry lifted his head to look at the sky and twisted his wand in between his fingers. Everyone stayed transfixed on him, unsure if they should continue. Potter looked back down to the floor and took several steps forwards until he reached the spot that Voldemort had just been stood. Reaching down he picked up the elder wand. Pointing it up in the air he shouted for all to hear "_Morsmordre_!"

A serpentine figure slivered out of the wand and shot up high into the air, the snake shaped wisp adjusting immediately forming the most feared of signs. The skull with the snake tongue was big enough for to be seen for miles, only being aided by how bright and glaring it was.

Hermione raised her hand to her mouth in shock. She watched in horror as Harry turned around to reveal his face to her; his beautiful green eyes were now a snake like crimson, his face twisted in one of hate. The death eaters took this as a sign to continue and immediately continued their assault, from this point it was more like a slaughter than a battle. Hope was lost and people too shocked by what had happened to remember where they were, those who did began to flee.

Harry turned his gaze to where Hermione and Ron were stood, both drew their wands up to point at him but neither seemed to be able to find the words that they needed to cast at their best friend. Lifting his wand Harry didn't hesitate with his spell, as flash of green light emerged from it. Before Hermione could react a body was in front of her gripping her arms so tight they were likely to bruise and she felt the familiar pull of side along apparition.

The world for a moment went dark and only a few seconds later did they emerge at their new destination. Before she could get back her orientation the body which had shielded her slumped forwards causing her to fall back. It was then that she recognised the shaggy red hair, it was Ron. Hermione let out a choked sob and she gently pushed Ron off of her and onto his back. "Ron no, please don't do this. I can't lose you too," Hermione sobbed, tears were streaming down her face but she didn't break down, she couldn't.

Running her wand over Ron the results were immediate, he was dead. Ronald Weasley was dead, murdered by his best friend. Hermione couldn't hold it back anymore; she leaned into Ron's chest and cried shamelessly, clutching at his shirt muttering for him to not leave her now. Her pleas went unheard.

The war didn't end as expected; there were no miracles or triumphant heroes, no epic defeat of the dark forces. The Battle for Hogwarts would go down in history as the most crushing defeat the light ever suffered, that day hope was lost and the loss of life was severe.

**a/n I'm sorry if there are any glaring mistakes, I don't have a beta.**


	2. Five years later

Hermione for a moment regretted choosing this location to hide but the likelihood of being discovered was minimal at best, unfortunately though that didn't make the blistering cold any easier to cope with. It was winter and they were stuck in Stroma, an island just off the northern coast of Scotland. They decided to squat in one of the houses near the coast; after all having four walls and a roof was far nicer than a tent, even a magically enhanced one. It was coming close to nightfall and Hermione could see the sun setting slowly from her view on the edge of the coast.

As she stood there watching the sun set she noticed someone come up next to her, they didn't say anything though instead choosing to stand in companionable silence. Minutes pass and Granger is the first to speak, her tone was sorrowful "I miss them so much."

"Oh so that's why you're out here," A smooth male voice responded, he then snapped his fingers as if remember a key something. "Yes it's been five years to date hasn't it."

Hermione turned to look at the Blaise Zabini, as usual he looked impeccable even and it was hard to tell that the man had been on the run like her for the past five years. But then he was vein enough to spend the time to look as such, he had dark smooth skin and a simple buzz cut. His cheek bones were high and his features sharp denoting clearly his aristocratic ancestry. He was most certainly a handsome man. He seemed to be holding an impassive expression.

Zabini was one of the first people Hermione had run into after the battle, well the first person that hasn't immediate tried to capture or kill her at least.

_It had been a month since she had buried Ron, it wasn't an easy task but the idea of the death eaters getting hold of his body made her cringe and push on. She had been spending the time trying to figure out where to go and what to do, her situation was impossible. She'd risked herself on several occasions over that month just trying to get food and water so as not to starve._

_The day she found Blaise she had been stalking a small village located several miles outside of Cambridge. The snatcher population was low and the death eaters even lower, it was the safest she was going to find before she ran out of supplies. The sun was just setting and she decided to allow darkness to give her cover and so would stay put for at least two hours before making her move._

_About an hour into her wait she heard a loud explosion, immediately she brought her wand to the ready frantically looking about to make sure she hadn't been spotted. Shouts could be heard not 20 meters away but it was hard to discern what they were saying. A few seconds later she saw a cloaked male figure run in front of her and head towards the forest, he was holding a large back with him but it didn't seem to be impeding his movement. A green light flashed past him hitting the ground beside him causing the man to stumble to the side. It was then that two death eaters came into view both hollering insults and throwing nasty looking hexes._

_The man managed to make it into the forest unscathed but the death eaters took chase. Hermione was torn on what to do, with the death eaters distracted it was a perfect opportunity to raid her own supplies without the hassle of sneaking past them but she felt a need to help the cloaked stranger. She couldn't in good conscience leave him to his fate and considering his currents odds it wasn't a pleasant looking fate. Granger hit her first onto the tree in a small fit of frustration and immediately started sprinting to where the death eaters had chased the other man._

_It didn't take long for her to catch up to the, he had been pinned down quite quickly by the two dark wizards who were blasting the tree's which the man was using for cover. It looked very much like they were playing with him, restricting his area more and more to make him panic. The cloaked man seemed unphased though and continued to fight back for all he was worth._

_Sneaking up on the two death eaters she lifted her wand, "Stupefy!"_

_The spell hit its intended target sending them to the ground, the other one turned their wand on Hermione but he was swiftly taken out by the cloaked figure before he had a chance to cast. Letting out a sigh of relief Hermione turned towards the cloaked figure who had come out from behind the trees. The man pulled his hood back to reveal his identity and it wasn't someone Hermione ever expected to meet in this situation._

_Almost by reflex Hermione lifted her wand, pointing it at Zabini. For his part Blaise simply raised his hands in a sign of surrender, his expression was annoyed but not in the least surprised. "Granger, put your wand down. I mean you no harm." He said evenly._

"_And why should I believe you Slytherin!" Hermione bit back, clearly not believing his words._

_Zabini scowled and pulled down the sleeve to his arms showing them to both be bare of any marks. "I am not a death eater; I take no part in their depravity." Zabini spat._

_Granger lowered her wand but still kept it at the ready. Although she still didn't trust him she wasn't exactly proud of her momentary lapse in judgement, automatically assuming he was a death eater due to his being Slytherin, it was unfair to say the least. "I'm sorry," she said curtly feeling it necessary to at least apologise before parting ways with him._

_The Slytherin for his part took the high road and chose to respond with a curt nod before picking up his things and heading towards the edge of the apparition wards. Hermione turned around to head back towards the town but was stopped after a couple of steps by Blaise calling out to her "Granger you're going the wrong way."_

_Hermione scoffed at this, "I still need to get my own supplies Zabini."_

"_It's too dangerous to go back there, the death eaters will have been alerted and more will come to investigate. You won't have time to collect everything and make a clean escape." Blaise said, his tone not giving any of his emotions away._

"_I don't really have much choice," Hermione responded with a frown as she continued her walk back towards the town. Once again she was stopped by Blaise but this time he had his hand on her arm, which immediately alarmed her and made her jump back. Zabini immediate let go and allowed her to move away but he stood his ground._

"_I have enough food for both of us for a few nights, come with me to my safehouse. I have a spare bed and a bath you can use." Blaise suggested his tone insistent even though his expression still gave nothing away._

_Granger internally debated for a moment but knew he was right, it was too dangerous to go back to the village and although she didn't like the idea of trusting this man the offer was tempting. It had been a while since she had been able to sleep in a bed and far too long since she had a proper wash. The lack of dark mark assuaged her somewhat but his personality in school speaks differently, from Hermione's perspective in school he always seemed to be a perfect Voldemort follower, disliking muggleborns and traitors alike but it was well known he also shunned a lot of a pureblood Slytherins. It was unclear which side the Zabini family officially took if any._

_Finally coming to an answer Hermione looked up at Zabini. "Alright but if this is a trap I will not hesitate to hex you into the ground," she threatened._

_Blaise had the audacity to chuckle at this, "It's good the see the war hasn't broken your Gryffindor spirit"_

Hermione was brought out of her reverie by a hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "It's getting cold out here, we better get back inside." Blaise commented.

Hermione allowed herself one last moment of sadness before putting her mask back on. "Anything good for dinner tonight?" she asked as she flashed Blaise a smile.

Zabini returned the smile and turned to lead Hermione back to the house. "I believe it's broth tonight, not quite sure what that is but Zach says it's great for a winter like this. Think it's a muggle recipe his mother taught him."

"Can't be any worse than that curry he tried to make," Hermione said was a grin.

Blaise shuddered next to her at the thought, "Merlin don't remind me. Why is it we let him cook?"

"He's the only one who likes cooking, I'm not going to take that away from him and give it to someone who doesn't want it even if he is terrible." Hermione responded with a shrug.

"I suppose that is fair, he can only get better." Zabini commented. Most would assume he was trying to look on the bright side but Hermione knew him better to realise he was in fact just adding another insult the poor man's cooking skills.


	3. Loss of innocence

Hermione pushed the door open gently allowing just enough room for her and Blaise to get in without letting too much of a draft to enter. The crew all readied themselves as they heard the door click but visibly relaxed when they saw who it was. Presumably Zach was in the kitchen preparing dinner as he was the only one not present in the living room. On the sofa sat Cho Chang and Cormac McLaggen chatting amicably about what Hermione could only assume to be quidditch from all the hand waving.

Parting from Blaise and leaving him to join the conversation, Hermione made her way to the kitchen. The sight that met her was greatly amusing to say the least; the place was an utter mess. Pots strewn all over the side, washing piled in the sink and a very flustered Zach trying to sort it all out. "Zacharias Smith!" Hermione shouted in her perfected bossy tone.

Zach jumped and turned around looking much like a deer caught in the headlights. Hermione had intended to pull off the act for at least another minute or two but she just couldn't do it to him. Her expression softened and her tone sympathetic, "Need some assistance?"

Sighing in relief, Zach handed over a wooden spoon. "Just make sure to stir it every now and then, I'll sort out this mess I've made." Smith said as he pulled out his wand and started _scourgify_ the pots and place them carefully back into a bag. The bag had an extension charm placed on it so it could carry all of their kitchen utensils, it was a rule that all items should go back into the bags after use so that if there was a need for a quick escape then they'd have more chance of grabbing their things rather than leaving them behind.

"Smells good," Hermione commented lightly as she stirred the broth.

"Don't sound so surprised, I do know how to cook I'm just not very good at improvising when we're low on stock," Zach replied defensively.

"You know that's not how I meant it Zach," Hermione said truthfully as she looked over to Smith. He had just finished getting out bowls and spoons to eat with.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I just… We all know what day it is. I'm just a little bit touchy today, I'll get over it." Zach admitted keeping his back to her. Hermione wasn't stupid, she knew at this moment that he needed some comfort and right now she was the only one here to give it. Stepping forwards she gave him a light hug, the gesture was friendly. He accepted it thankfully and swiped at a tear which had begun to fall.

After a moment or two he composed himself and turned around to face her, a smile once again plastered on his face. "I'll dish up! You go sit with the others, I will be right in."

Nodding Hermione pulled back and made her way into the living room. Blaise seemed to be upstairs and the quidditch debate was still raging on between Cho and Cormac. She was surprised they hadn't run out of stuff to debate in regards to quidditch, the professional sport had been banned when Voldemort took full power over the wizarding world. Before Hermione could add her own opinion to the conversation Zach barged through the kitchen door levitating a large pot of chicken broth. He placed it on the table and handed everyone a bowl, "Where's Zabini?"

"Right here!" Blaise called out as he entered the living room, he was hiding something behind his back. Everyone cast their eyes towards him wondering what he was doing, for a moment he was uncharacteristically shy. "We all know the date and I know it's not an easy time for any of us. I've been saving this for a while, a special occasion but I suppose now is the best time. I was hoping we could all have a drink in honour of those that were lost." Zabini concluded his speech by pulling out a bottle of firewhiskey and flashing his most mischievous grin.

The grin spread throughout the whole group and Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, the man certainly knew how to pick up the mood of a room.

A couple of hours later everyone agreed it was time to get some rest. In this two bedroom house the living arrangements were simple, boys in one room and girls in the other. Extra beds had been transfigured from various items so they could have the comfort for as long as they were able to stay there. They never stayed in one place for too long and it was rare that they actually got to sleep in a house rather than a tent. Luxuries such as this only came around once a year.

Voldemort had taken a firm grip of Britain, after the final battle people fell in line and accepted his rule. Rebellions and insurrectionists were dealt with swiftly and viciously. Many people still managed to make it underground though, much like Hermione and her small group. They weren't what you would call rebels, just survivors. No one knew for sure how far Voldemorts power actually stretched. In the first year he made international travel nearly impossible, for almost two years he forced the muggles to live without electricity so as to make them dependant on him and other wizards.

Everyone was monitored; one could not leave a county to go to another without express permission which could only be given by your Lord. It was like Britain had been plunged into the medieval era once again. While his most devoted death eaters had been given the title of Lord and their own patch of land to rule as they so wished, Voldemort had taken to calling himself King and his decision on any part of land was final. He had taken residence in muggle London so as to be a figure in both the wizarding world and the muggle one, although the lines had been blurred beyond recognition now. His castle had been dubbed the Dreadfort; the rumours about the place were unending and none of them nice.

As time went on food became harder and harder to procure as Voldemorts grip tightened, hardly anything happened without his knowledge. The group had taken to planting small farms in various locations, nothing noticeable which would draw attention but enough for the five of them to eat. It had surprisingly been Cormac McLaggen to show them the best techniques and found good places to plant them. Once or twice a year the group would venture into a small town and steal from their stores, it was a risky move and more often than not someone was injured while trying to escape but it was necessary to their survival. Every year the risk was greater and the reward smaller.

Four years ago while on a raid Hermione had managed to gain herself the dubious honour of becoming undesirable number one…

_Hermione looked towards Blaise, Zach and Megan who were both still stuffing their bags with food, mostly sticking to the longer lasting items but right now anything was a gain. Granger had taken to keeping look out so that they wouldn't be taken by surprise should they be found. "I don't like this, we are in Kent and we all know who Lord of Kent is. Voldemorts most loyal." Megan said in hushed tones, the worry in her voice unmistakeable. _

_Hermione turned sharply towards Megan, "Yes but that doesn't matter because we're getting out of here before anyone even notices something is wrong."_

_Megan took in a deep breath to calm herself and continued to stuff her bag. Once that was done they all lined up behind Hermione to wait for her cue. The coast was clear, the patrol had not long as meaning they had time to get out without being seen. Ordering them out she pulled up the hood of her cloak as she covered the back to make sure they weren't being followed. Desperately she wanted to disillusion herself but the magic would be sensed and their cover immediately blown, only those with the dark mark were allowed free use of their magic in places such as this._

_Turning the corner the goal was in sight, just past the tree line was where they could apparate from freely. It was then that Hermione heard something behind her immediately turning she threw up a protego which was decidedly a good call when it absorbed a hex. The group stopped at the sound and turned around to face none other than Draco Malfoy along with four others; one of them being Pansy Malfoy nee Parkinson. "Well well well what do you we have here," Draco commented in his usual drawl._

_It was strange looking at Draco now, he was the embodiment of his father except with shorter hair. His stance, his tone, his clothes all spoke volumes about how much of a pompous ass he was and still is. Hermione didn't bother to respond with anything as simple as a quip, she knew he'd only try to delay her until even more death eaters arrived and he'd win by sheer numbers. "Stupefy!"_

_The fight quickly escalated and everyone began throwing their own curses. Slowly they pulled back towards the forest so that they could make their retreat. They were moving too slow, soon enough more death eaters would come to surround them and there would be no hope of escape. Before she could shout any orders Hermione found herself parrying two of the death eaters, both were skilled but clearly out of practice as neither could seem to get a clean hit on her. With a flurry of wand waves she disarmed and stunned both of them while only maintaining minimal damage._

_Hermione turned to see the progress of her group and was horrified to see Megan on the floor with Draco Malfoy looming over her pointing his wand in her face. He took the chance to grace Hermione with an evil smirk before calling out them dreaded words "Avada Kedavra!"_

_Megan slumped back, her face now expressionless and unmoving, dead. Hermione screamed in pain at the loss and lifted her wand to Draco, her rational thought gone for the moment she cast the first thing that came to mind. "Sectumsempra!" Hermione all but hissed as she slashed her wand through the air in his direction._

_The spell did not reach its intended target though, instead it was intercepted by another. Pansy Parkinson had stepped into the line of fire taking the malicious curse head on. Immediately her chest split open and blood spat out forcing her to fall down onto her back, the spell had ripped into her chest with such force it broke through the ribcage. Draco let out a feral roar and screamed at Hermione "I'm going to kill you mudblood!"_

_Hermione was horrified by what she had just done, even if it was to the enemy. Before she could react properly or Malfoy take revenge an arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her to the edge of the forest. She didn't resist even as she felt the tug of apparition. Falling to her knee's she looked up to see Blaise, his impassive mask holding but his eyes showing great sadness. Before she could stop herself Hermione began to cry, both Blaise and Zach comforted her as she let her emotions out in a moment of weakness. She cried for her friend Megan and she cried for her loss of innocence, this war really had changed her._

**A/N Hope the story is being enjoyed so far, if anything in unclear please do ask and I will try to explain it in the next chapter **


	4. Old Friend

"Guys you might want to see this," Cormac announced as he threw the daily prophet onto the table. It was nearly lunch time and most had sat down in anticipation of eating until Cormac charged in.

Hermione immediately frowned wondering where he had managed to get the newspaper from and worried as to what would be so important. Since Voldemort took power the daily prophet was nothing more than propaganda and a series of wanted posters, it was quite pointless now. With a huff Hermione unfolded the newspaper seeing as no one else had wanted to. The front page was what it usually was; a picture of Hermione, undesirable number one. Although she still wasn't quite sure why she had maintained that wanted position, there were people who had killed far more important death eaters than Pansy Parkinson. She could only assume it was because she was effectively the last of the 'golden trio'.

"Go on then, I know you look good in that wanted poster Hermione but open it!" Cormac said his face too serious for the joke he had just made.

Rolling her eyes Hermione opened the newspaper ignoring the next few wanted posters until she reached what she assumed McLaggen wanted them to see. There was a sharp intake of breath from the occupants of the room as they saw the title.

**EVERYONE TO TAKE DARK MARK**

_By Rita Skeeter_

_The King has announced that the dark mark is to be impressed upon every one of his subjects._

_It is said there will be 5 ranks of mark._

_The original mark being for Lords and long standing death eaters._

_Second will be for new death eaters_

_Third will be for purebloods._

_Fourth will be for half bloods._

_Fifth will be for muggles._

The room was silent for a moment as everyone took in this new bit of information. "Why?" Chang asked as she rubbed the back of her hand.

"It will give him more control, if everyone has a dark mark he can monitor everything and stop those without a mark from entering most places. I'm actually more surprised it has taken five years." Hermione answered as she continued to stare at the newspaper.

Blaise for once was visibly worried, they all were, but for him to show it was a sign that this was a very bad situation. "Does it say when this is going to take place? A time frame at all? Is it already happening?"

"What about supplies? We don't have enough to last us more than a month. We'll be done for if this has already started." Zach piped in. This immediately caused more concerns to be aired, each statement more extreme than the last. As the noise got louder, Hermione grew more annoyed.

Hermione slammed her hand down onto the table and immediately the talking stopped, the attention of the room now solely on her. "Stop it right now," Granger said through gritted teeth "Can't you see this is exactly what this article is for?"

After a couple of murmurs and a bout of confused looks Hermione continued, "King Voldemort as he so likes to call himself now has never seen fit to explain his plans before, so why now? Because he wants us to panic, he is trying to draw whatever people are left out of hiding and force them to make a mistake by coming out in the open. And considering the reaction of everyone just now I'd say it's going to work."

There was silence for a moment and then a few agreeing nods. Blaise was the first to speak up attempting to put his indifferent mask back in place "You're right, of course you're right. This is…it's still bad news. We need to plan and preferably sooner rather than later."

Everyone sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought about their current predicament. Hermione frowned as she looked back to the newspaper in front of her, "Cormac where did you get this from?"

Before Cormac could open his mouth to answer there was a loud bang which shook the house. Everyone's eyes widened and looked towards Hermione whose hands had immediately gone to her pocket to pull out a bracelet. "Someone is trying to get through the wards. Everyone get their stuff together and portkey out with this bracelet. Blaise with me, we'll hold them off."

Immediately people pulled out their wands and followed the given orders. Blaise had moved to the window, his wand in hand and was looking outside to get an indication of how many there were. "I can see three from this angle, there are possibly more. They seem to be having trouble breaking your wards which should give us a chance," Blaise commented, his smirk coming through clearly in his tone.

"You've always been better at battle tactics than me, what should we do? I want to give the others as much time as possible." Hermione asked as she settled herself at the other window to also try and get a look outside. She spotted another two and indicated as such to Blaise.

"So that's five we know about," Blaise said to himself as he furrowed his brows. "I assume you have the other portkey. The best thing I can think of is to pepper. Keep moving alternatively while the other covers to keep them on their toes and buy time."

Another bang sounded and Hermione flinched as the house shook once again, the wards had been destroyed. "We know you're in there still my lovlies, I can smell your fear." The man cackled from outside. Hermione paled upon recognising the voice, it could only be Fenrir Greyback.

Blaise settled a hand on her shoulder forcing her to focus on him, "Two minutes and we'll be out of here with everything."

With them last words and a soft squeeze of her shoulder for encouragement Zabini pushed the door open and rushed out throwing a barrage of hexes, immediately followed by Hermione who was continually switching between defensive spells for both herself and Blaise. To their relief there were only five of them, the odds were still against them but they held their own well enough. Fenrir was the most worrying of them but he seemed more interested in trying to get close to them rather than blasting their heads off.

A few moments later they were joined by Cormac who was throwing his own spells into the mix. "Cho and Zach have portkeyed out, we need to leave before more turn up," McLaggen huffed as spell narrowly missed his face. Hermione continued to shield and deflect curses as the other two sent out their various curses at the death eaters.

Wanting to end this fight now Hermione lifted her wand and aimed it at the feet of Fenrir "_Bombarda maxima!"_

Dirt blasted up from the ground, the explosion causing the werewolf to be knocked back a fair distance and causing unknown damage to him. The area was immediately covered with a fog of dirt which would give them the opportunity to portkey out while the death eaters strived to regain their senses. Pulling a necklace out from her pocket she pulled Cormac and Blaise to her.

Before the incantation could be said a blue light came whizzing out from the smoke hitting Cormac square in the chest sending him flying back. Before Hermione could make sure he was alright a gust of wind cause the smoke she had created to clear revealing the last thing she wanted to see. Looking into the face of Harry Potter wasn't something she had done since that day five years ago on the battle field; he looked like the same Harry except for his eyes. The crimson snake like eyes that indicated he was not Harry but someone far more evil.

As they looked at each other for that split second his expression turned into something else, one could almost describe it was a leer but it was so distorted on the face of her 'best friend' it was hard to tell. Hermione felt rage bubble inside her, this was not her friend. Immediately lifting her wand Hermione slashed it through the air in his direction "_Sectumsempra!"_

A flash of surprise came across Voldemorts face but it quickly dissipated and turned into a look of irritation as he blocked the curse hastily throwing back one of his own. The exchange between them was surreal, the death eaters seemed to just step back and allow this to happen, Blaise took the chance to move towards Cormac with the portkey. "Hermione that's no way to greet an old friend," Voldemort sneered.

For a moment she was taken aback at how much like Harry he sounded, she'd have thought he would have sounded more like…a snake. "You are NOT Harry," Hermione retorted with her own sneer. His only response to that was a crooked smile and another curse sent her way, Hermione blocked it with surprising ease and wondered for a moment what he was playing at. If she didn't know any better she would say he wasn't really trying to hurt her.

The parry between them lasted for another minute. Voldemort opened his mouth to say something but before he could speak all hell broke loose. With a loud clap sounding much like thunder the area began to flood with people. Spells were flying everywhere but Hermione kept her attention on Voldemort his expression angry, he did the same and allowed his death eaters to deal with the new intrusion. For a moment it almost felt like the battle for Hogwarts, the atmosphere was chaotic.

Hermione was caught off guard when another spell near her went off causing the ground to shake and she lost her balance. Immediately taking advantage Voldemort blasted a spell at her which she was unable to block, it sent her reeling back. Hermione's head made a sickening crunch as she connected again with the floor.

Her vision began to blur and she was too disoriented to even attempt getting up. As her vision began to fade a red haired man came into view, she felt him shaking her. "Hermione. Hermione stay awake!" he sounded familiar.

"Ron?" Hermione replied automatically. She knew Ron was dead, she had buried him herself but in her hazy state it was hard to think anything else. Soon enough the world went black and she passed out.


End file.
